Get Ready To Cruise The Bahamas

The goal of this course is to simplify the preparation for the trip and let you know what to expect. There are step-by-step instructions and recommendations for everything you'll need. 

The material is primarily written, with links to forms, websites, and recommended products. There are detailed directions and screenshots for completing various forms. And there are a few downloadable checklists for you as well.

• Introduction
  • Bahamas Photo Album
  • 15 Things to Know About Cruising the Bahamas
  • Ciguatera

• Legalities
  • Pre-Departure Checklist
  • Insurance
  • Click2Clear
  • Getting a Bahamas Pet Permit
  • The Q Flag
  • Checking In
  • Money
  • Checking Out
  • CBP ROAM App

• Crossing the Gulf Stream, Charts & Cruising Guides
  • Crossing the Gulf Stream
  • Charts
  • Cruising Guides

• Weather and Tides
  • Getting Weather Info
  • Bahamas Tides

• Provisioning
  • Provisioning in General
  • Calculating Amounts to Buy
  • Have a Tiny Refrigerator?
  • Prescription Medicines
  • Fuel, Water, Propane

• Communications: Internet, Calling & Texting
  • Bahamas Internet
  • VPNs (Virtual Private Networks)
  • Phone Calls When In the Bahamas
  • Communications Apps
  • inReach Satellite Communications

• In Case of Emergency
  • Overview
  • Float Plan
  • Your Emergency Contacts
  • Your Ditch Bag
  • Medical Assistance/Evacuation

Private Facebook Group

You'll get access to a private Facebook group where you can ask questions of Carolyn and other course participants, and where you can share your successes.

You'll also get a subscription to The Boat Galley Newsletter, a weekly email filled with information about living on a boat. Don't like it? You can unsubscribe at any time.

And no, we aren’t going to sell your email address or send you spam, because that’s not who we are.

You'll get login details onscreen immediately after purchase as well as by email a few minutes later.

Take this course whenever you want, as fast or slow as you want, in whatever order you want, and refer back to materials as often as you want. You'll have lifetime access to all, including all updates.

Everything is online; there is no shipping.

Carolyn Shearlock is the founder of The Boat Galley and an instructor at Cruisers University at the Annapolis Boat Shows. In addition to her articles and podcasts for The Boat Galley, she frequently writes for various boating and cruising magazines. 

Carolyn and her husband Dave have lived aboard two different boats for a total of 15 years. They've cruised over 14,000 miles in the Sea of Cortez, Pacific Mexico, and Central America, and more recently Florida and the Bahamas.